Nail fin for window frame assembly

ABSTRACT

A nail fin is adapted to be used with a fenestration frame assembly adapted to be fastened in a building support structure. The nail fin includes a substantially bendable metallic flange member having an anchor portion adapted to be retained in the frame assembly and pivotally connected to an attachment portion adapted to be fastened to the support structure along a hinge defined by a series of spaced apart openings formed through the flange member. The metallic flange member is formed with a coextruded first strip covering the openings and defining barbed elements around the anchor portion. The metallic flange member is formed with a second coextruded strip defining a solid attachment template adapted to be fastened to the support structure and forming a seal adapted to be engaged against the support structure.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to nail fins used in theconstruction industry to secure a frame assembly, such as a window ordoor assembly, to a surrounding support structure. More particularly,the invention relates to a foldable nail fin which in addition to theabove function, provides enhanced sealing and attachment capability.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Most commercial fenestration products (e.g. doors and windows) areprovided with factory installed circumscribing frames. These frames arenormally equipped with nail fins which are initially attached in arecessed or flattened condition adjacent the outer frame surfaces. Inuse, the fins are manually pivoted outwardly through essentially a 90degree arc so as to form outwardly extending projections about the dooror window frame. During installation, the door or window assembly ismounted in an approximate rough opening in the building wall, and nailsor screws are installed through the fins to attach the door or windowassembly in place.

Known fin designs are manufactured with various insertion legconfigurations for anchoring and retaining the fin in the door or windowframe assembly. Existing fins are also manufactured with a series ofopenings through the fin body to define a fold line or hinge. Theopenings are covered with a tape which is designed to prevent waterleakage through the holes where the fenestration product is installed ina building. In addition, nail holes are typically formed in the fin bodyto facilitate the attachment of the fins to the building wall or supportstructure.

When using these known fins, manufacturing costs are affected by theinclusion of the various insertion leg configurations, sealing tape andnail hole formation. In addition, the sealing tape can be dislodged orpunctured during the installation process, thereby presenting a leakageproblem. Further leakage problems may occur in the area where the fin isattached to the building wall or support structure.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved nail fin whichaddresses the cost, sealing and attachment concerns created by the priorart design.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a nail fin adapted to be used with afenestration frame assembly adapted to be fastened in a building supportstructure. The nail fin includes a substantially rigid, bendable,metallic flange member having an anchor portion adapted to be retainedin the frame assembly and pivotally connected to an attachment portionadapted to be fastened to the support structure along a hinge defined bya series of spaced apart openings formed through the flange member. Themetallic flange member is formed with a coextruded strip covering theopenings and defining barbed elements around the anchored portion.

The attachment portion of the metallic flange member is formed withanother coextruded strip defining a solid attachment template adapted tobe fastened to the support structure and forming a seal adapted to beengaged against the support structure. The flange member is preferablyconstructed of galvanized steel, and the coextruded strips areconstructed of thermoplastic elastomer.

In one aspect of the invention, a nail fin is adapted to interconnect aperipheral frame assembly with a support structure. The nail finincludes an L-shaped bendable member constructed of a substantiallystiff material having a bent inner portion provided with a horizontalleg connected to a vertical leg, and a straight outer portion with aninner end lying coplanar with the horizontal leg and pivotallyinterconnected with the inner portion by a hinge defined by a series ofspaced apart openings formed through the bendable member. At least afirst strip covers the hinge and extends along outer surfaces of theouter portion, the horizontal leg and the vertical leg as well as aninner surface of the vertical leg for sealing the openings andintegrally forming barbed elements adapted to be frictionally retainedin the peripheral frame assembly.

A second strip is provided along an outer end of the outer portion fordefining a solid attachment template adapted to be fastened to thesupport structure and forming a seal adapted to be engaged against thesupport structure. The bendable member is preferably constructed ofgalvanized steel. The horizontal leg is integrally joined to thevertical leg at a 90 degree angle. The first and second strips areconstructed of a flexible thermoplastic elastomer coextruded alongopposite ends of the bendable member. The second strip includes a planarportion and a deflectable sealing finger disposed at an angle relativeto the planar portion. The bendable member has a shipping position inwhich the outer portion is adapted to lie along an outer surface of theperipheral frame assembly, and an installed position in which the outerportion is adapted to be attached to the support structure at an angleof 90 degrees relative to the outer surface of the peripheral frameassembly. The outer portion has a length which is longer than the innerportion. The seal includes a portion that extends along an inner surfaceof the outer end. The bendable member has a substantially uniformthickness throughout a length and a width thereof. The bendable memberis constructed of a material different than the first and second strips.

The invention further contemplates a method for providing a nail finbetween a fenestration product frame assembly and a building supportstructure. The method includes the steps of: a) supplying asubstantially bendable metallic flange member having an anchor portionpivotally connected to an attachment portion along a hinge defined by aseries of openings formed through the flange member; b) coextruding afirst flexible strip on the flange member covering the openings andforming barbed elements around the anchor portion; c) coextruding asecond flexible strip on the attachment portion of the flange memberspaced from the first flexible strip with the second flexible striphaving a solid attachment template and a deflectable seal; d)positioning the flange member such that the anchor portion and thebarbed elements are frictionally retained in a channel formed in anouter surface of the frame assembly, and the attachment portion extendsalong the outer surface of the frame assembly; e) bending the attachmentportion with the second strip away from the outer surface of the frameassembly such that the attachment portion lies substantiallyperpendicular to the outer surface of the frame assembly; and f)fastening the attachment portion through the solid attachment templateto the support structure such that the seal engages the supportstructure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated of carryingout the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a nail fin formed in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded, elevational view of a nail fin and a window frameassembly;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a nail fin in a shipping position, inan intermediate installation position and in a final installationposition as the nail fin is retained in the window frame assembly;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of FIG. 3 in the intermediate installationposition, with parts of a nail fin removed for clarity;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the nail fin in the final installationposition attached to a building support structure; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detail view taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a nail fin for use with a window, dooror other similar fenestration product enclosed by or having a peripheralframe. Although the preferred embodiment illustrates a nail fin in usewith a window frame assembly, it should be understood that use of thenail fin is not restricted to that singular application. As such, thefollowing description is not intended to limit the scope of theinvention.

Referring to FIGS. 1-7, thereshown is a nail fin 10 formed in accordancewith the present invention. The nail fin 10 is comprised of an L-shaped,thin flange member 12 constructed of a substantially rigid or stiffbendable metal, such as galvanized steel. The flange member 12 is formedwith a generally constant thickness throughout its width and length, andincludes an inner or anchor portion 14, and an outer or attachmentportion 16. The inner and outer portions 14, 16, respectively arepivotally interconnected together along a hinge defined by a series ofspaced apart rectangular openings 18 formed through the flange member 12across its width. The inner portion 14 has a straight horizontal leg 20connected to a straight vertical leg 22 at a 90 degree angle. The outerportion 16 is straight and lies coplanar with the horizontal leg 20 ofinner portion 14. The outer portion 16 has a length which is longer thana length of the inner portion 14.

A first flexible strip 24 covers a hinge formed by openings 18, and iscoextruded along outer surfaces of the outer portions 16, the horizontalleg 20 and the vertical leg 22 as well as along an inner surface of thevertical leg 22. The first coextruded strip 24 serves to seal theopenings 18 to prevent the passage of moisture therethrough. Inaddition, the first strip 24 is integrally formed with barbed elements26 around the vertical leg 22 adapted to be frictionally retained in akerf or channel 28 formed in an outer surface of a window frame assembly30.

A second flexible strip 32 is coextruded along an outer end of the outerportion 16 for defining a solid attachment template adapted to befastened to a building support structure 34 (FIGS. 6-7), and forming adeflectable seal adapted to be engaged tightly against the supportstructure 34. The second strip 32 has a planar portion 36 forming theattachment template and a deflectable sealing finger 38 disposed at anangle relative to the planar portion 36. The sealing finger 38 has aportion 40 that extends along an inner surface of the outer end of theouter portion 16. The first and second strips 24, 32, respectively, arethus coextruded at opposite ends of the flange member 12, and arepreferably formed as a rubber-like thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). Onesuitable TPE material that may be used is manufactured by AdvancedElastomer Systems LP of Akron, Ohio under the trademark SANTOPRENE. Itshould be appreciated that the first and second strips 24, 32 may beformed from other suitable flexible materials.

In use, the nail fin 10 assumes a shipping position A (FIG. 3) in whichthe vertical leg 22 of inner or anchor portion 14 and the surroundingbarbed elements 26 are forced into and frictionally retained in channel28 formed in the outer surface of window frame assembly 30. Thehorizontal leg 20 and the outer or attachment portion 16 of fin 10extend along the outer surface of the window frame assembly 30 with thesealing finger 38 engaged against the window frame assembly.

At a construction site, the nail fin 10 and window frame assembly 30combination is used to properly align the window frame assembly 30relative to a building support structure 34. To ready the nail fin 10for attachment to the support structure 34, the outer or attachmentportion 16 is folded or bent through about 45 degrees to an intermediateinstallation position B and then bent to a final installation position Clying at about a 90 degree angle to the plane of the outer surface ofthe window frame assembly 30. At this point, the second strip 32 definesthe solid attachment template which identifies the preferred area wherethe attachment portion 16 is fastened to the building support structure34 (FIGS. 6-7) such as by a nail or the like (not shown). The supportstructure 34 may include siding 42 attached to support beams 44. Withthe fastening of the attachment portion 16 to the support structure 34,the sealing finger 38 tightly engages the support surface 34 to prevententry of moisture between the outer portion 16 and the support structure34.

The present invention thus provides a nail fin 70 coextruded with a pairof thermoplastic elastomer strips 24, 32 which are used to facilitateenhanced sealing across hinge openings 18 and against a building supportstructure 34, and create a positive attachment template 36 and sealingfinger 38 used in the installation of the fin 10 upon the supportstructure 34. The first strip 24 simultaneously seals the openings 18forming the hinge, and creates an effective barbed insertion structurearound the vertical leg 24 to facilitate and improve attachment to thewindow frame assembly 30. The second strip 32 defines a solid attachmenttemplate 36 which seals around a nail or other fastener driven into thesupport structure 34. At the same time, the second strip uses a finger38 as a water tight seal against a vertical surface of the buildingstructure 34. The thermoplastic elastomer on strips 24, 32 willwithstand extreme temperatures and will not crack during use.

While the invention has been described with reference to a preferredembodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that certainsubstitutions, alterations and omissions may be made without departingfrom the spirit thereof. Accordingly, the foregoing description is meantto be exemplary only and should not be deemed limitative on the scope ofthe invention set forth with the following claims.

1. A nail fin used with a fenestration frame assembly fastened in abuilding support structure, the nail fin comprising: a bendable metallicflange member having an anchor portion with a horizontal leg joinedintegrally at a single 90° angle to a vertical leg retained in the frameassembly, the anchor portion being pivotally connected to a straightattachment portion fastened flush against the support structure along ahinge defined by a series of spaced apart openings formed through theflange member, the metallic flange member being formed with a stripextending along outer surfaces of the attachment and anchor portions andan inner surface of the anchor portion covering and sealing the openingsand simultaneously defining barbed elements around the vertical leg ofthe anchor portion, and wherein the attachment portion of the metallicflange member is formed with another strip separated from the stripcovering the openings, extending continuously along the outer surface ofthe attachment portion and an inner surface of the attachment portionand defining a solid attachment template fastened to the supportstructure and forming a sealing finger disposed at an angle relative tothe attachment portion and engaged against the support structure.
 2. Thenail fin of claim 1, wherein the flange member is constructed ofgalvanized steel.
 3. The nail fin of claim 1, wherein the strip isconstructed of thermoplastic elastomer.
 4. The nail fin of claim 1,wherein both strips are constructed of thermoplastic elastomer.
 5. Anail fin used to interconnect a peripheral frame assembly with a supportstructure, the nail fin comprising: an L-shaped bendable memberconstructed of a substantially stiff material having a bent innerportion with a single 90° angle provided with a horizontal leg connectedto a vertical leg and a straight outer portion with an inner end lyingcoplanar with the horizontal leg and pivotally interconnected with theinner portion by a hinge defined by a series of spaced apart openingsformed through the bendable member; a first strip covering the hinge andextending along outer surfaces of the outer portion, the horizontal legand the vertical leg and an inner surface of the vertical leg forsealing the openings and integrally forming barbed elements only on thevertical leg that are frictionally retained in the peripheral frameassembly, and a separate second strip being provided continuously alonginner and outer surfaces along an outer end of the outer portion fordefining a solid attachment template fastened to the support structureand integrally forming a sealing finger at an angle against the supportstructure.
 6. The nail fin of claim 5, wherein the bendable member isconstructed of galvanized steel.
 7. The nail fin of claim 5, wherein thefirst strip is constructed of a flexible thermoplastic elastomerextending along the outer surfaces of the outer portion, the horizontaland vertical legs and the inner surface of the vertical leg.
 8. The nailfin of claim 5, wherein the first and second strips are constructed of aflexible thermoplastic elastomer extending along opposite ends of thebendable member.
 9. The nail fin of claim 5, wherein the bendable memberhas a shipping position in which the outer portion lies along a flatouter surface of the peripheral frame assembly, and an installedposition in which the outer portion is attached to the support structureat an angle of 90° degrees relative to the flat outer surface of theperipheral frame assembly.
 10. The nail fin of claim 5, wherein theouter portion has a length which is longer than the inner portion. 11.The nail fin of claim 5, wherein the seal includes a portion thatextends along an inner surface of the outer end.
 12. The nail fin ofclaim 5, wherein the bendable member has a substantially uniformthickness throughout a length and a width thereof.
 13. The nail fin ofclaim 5, wherein the bendable member is constructed of a materialdifferent than the first and second strips.